Mazda RX-3 | Vintage Views | Articles

[Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the November 2011 issue of Grassroots Motorsports. Some information may be different today.]

Looking for an old-school classic that has a fanatical following–plus a nice motorsports pedigree? Cast your eyes upon the Mazda RX-3, especially in boy-racer SP guise.

At its core, the RX-3 was a small family car offered stateside from 1972 through 1978. An optional sports package, simply known as the SP, was available for the final two years of production.

The RX-3 SP was the Japanese manufacturer’s first nudge toward offering a performance car to American buyers. While it wasn’t a true sports package, it certainly was marketed as one. You could find the RX-3 SP leaving fiery, sideways skid marks in many publications of the time.

Why do we say it wasn’t a true sports package? Well, the SP didn’t add much real performance to the bottom line–mainly just vinyl markings, rear window louvers, and a front spoiler lifted from a bulldozer.

Don’t think we’re calling it an underachiever, though. The RX-3 in any guise made a modest 95 horsepower through its stock rotary engine, but it also weighed about 2200 pounds, which made it serviceable as a performance car. The Porsche 924, introduced in the same year as the RX-3 SP, also made 95 horsepower, but it weighed about 400 pounds more.

The 12A engines found in the American RX-3s were also robust enough to get a 75,000-mile warranty and proved to be strong performers on the track–ogenerally once uncorked a bit. The RX-3 became a contender in the IMSA RS Championship, especially with rotary master Jim Downing behind the wheel. Racing Beat, another rotary tuner, turned the RX-3 into a drag race record holder.

For many years, the RX-3 was also a strong contender in SCCA GT2 and Improved Touring A competition. Tom Ellam continues to carry the torch, as his RX-3 trophied at the Tire Rack SCCA Solo Nationals last year.

Today, the RX-3 lives on as an icon, though examples are becoming slightly difficult to find. What was once a throwaway chassis has been called a future collectable–along with other early Japanese performance cars.

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